Finally, the Green Bay Packers are starting to play some complimentary football. All three phases are starting to click. Most of all, on offense. With Jordan Love cooking and Rashan Gary dominating offensive tackles, it’s time to take another look at how the Packers stack up against the rest of the NFL.
Green Bay Packers Offense
What once seemed like a weakness for the Packers is now a strength. The young receivers and Jordan Love are finally on the same page. The Packers are currently 16th in the NFL in passing yards per game (222.1 YPG). That is four spots below the Eagles and four spots above the Ravens. When it comes to total scoring, the Packers rank 17th (21 PPG). Now that the Packers offense is clicking, hopefully that number will climb a bit in the following weeks.
On the dimmer side of things, the Packers are still not running the ball well. They are currently ranked 22nd (102.7 YPG). Out of all the teams that rank lower than the Packers, only two teams have winning records. The Texans and the Seahawks. Interestingly, the Packers next opponent, The Chiefs, is Ranked 17th in the NFL. Rushing for 106.5 yards per game. This just goes to show that most of the teams that rank around the middle are only separated by a few yards per game.
One thing the Packers haven’t had a lot of is rushing TDs. The Packers have six rushing touchdowns which is tied for 4th worst in NFL. On the flip side of that coin, the Packers are tied for 5th in Passing touchdowns with San Francisco and Brock Purdy.
The Best stat that I came across in my research was the Packers 3rd down conversion rate. They are converting on 3rd down 43.6 percent of the time. That is 7th best in the NFL. Only the Texans, 49ers, Chiefs, Eagles, Cowboys, and Bills are better than the Packers on 3rd down. What do all the teams on that list have in common? They all have good Quarterbacks.
Green Bay Packers Defense
The Packers are giving up 340.3 yards per game on defense. That is the 18th-best in the NFL. That is one spot above the Eagles, who are ranked 19th with 341.0 yards allowed per game. Not bad, considering the Eagles are 10-1, and look like they are set to go to another NFC championship game.
One area that the Packers continue to excel at is pass coverage. They are only allowing 205.1 yards per game through the air. That is 9th best in the NFL. Only the Bills, Saints, Jets, Panthers, Chiefs, Ravens, Cowboys, and Browns are ranked higher. Considering the Packers have been missing Alexander, Savage, Ford, Stokes and traded Rasual Douglas away. I would say they have a bright future with some of their younger secondary pieces. To go along with the yards, the Packers have also only given up 12 touchdowns through the air. That is tied for 3rd best with the Texans and Titans.
While the Packers are giving up some yardage, they are much better at keeping opponents out of the end zone. They are allowing 20.4 points per game. That is 10th in the NFL. Joe Barry has gotten a lot of heat this year over some of the decisions he has made. When you take a look at the most important number, however, he is only five points off the best defense in the NFL. That would be the 49ers defense, who are only giving up 15.5 points per game.
Third Down Defense
Situationally, there is an argument to be made that Joe Barry needs to improve. The Packers are allowing opposing offenses to convert on third down 39.9 percent of the time. That is 22nd in the NFL. I’ve always been a strong believer that how you perform on third down indicates the success of your football team. If you can convert on offense and get opposing offenses off the field on third down, your probably going to be a good football team.
Special teams
I don’t have a lot to say about special teams this week. The Lions game was one of the best-looking special teams games the Packers had played in a while. Even with that great performance Anders Carlson still missed a PAT. I’ve said it before in previous articles, but good teams don’t shoot themselves in the foot by giving away free points. I’m not going to crush him for the long field goal attempt that he missed. However, when you have made as many mistakes as Carlson has this season, it would be nice to see him make it up with a few nice plays. So far, that hasn’t been the case.
One final positive for the special teams is Nixon. The Packers are ranked first in the NFL in total kick return yards with 563. The next closest team is Seattle, with 471 yards on kick return yards. That is almost a full NFL football field better than the second-place team. Nixon and the kick return team have been a real weapon for this Packers team. They will need some help from special teams at some point against a good KC team. Of their three units, special teams have been the weakest. Not to say it’s a weakness, but if Nixon and the return team can give the Packers offense a few short fields, this becomes a whole lot more winnable.
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